Lived
by the.x.phile
Summary: What was the story left untold by Chris Carter?
Scully had an annoyed look on her face as she struggled to get the key in her door's lock. Finally, she prevailed and walked in her apartment. After a long week of teaching at the academy, the last thing she wanted to hear was William screaming his head off again. Wasn't Mulder looking after him? Then, out walked the man in question with a towel around his waist, and their 5-month old son on his shoulder.

"Hey. How was work?"

"Work was the same as always." Scully had a blank look on her face as she took William from his arm.

"What's wrong with you?"

Mulder leaned in to kiss Scully gently on the lips.

"Nothing. I'm fine. Have you fed William yet? She said as she started to unbutton her blouse.

"No, actually. I just finished up in the shower and I am about to warm up some milk for him.". He buttoned her top back up and took William.

Scully smiled at him before she looked around her once clean home. Her smile slowly faded as she realized It looked as if a bomb had gone off inside. It didn't really help having two messy boys around either. She got up and started towards the pile of dishes in the sink, before Mulder stopped her.

"What are you doing Mulder?"

"I'm looking after you. Go to bed Dana and I'll clean up around here."

It was nice to hear him calling her by her first name although she knew he only said it when he was genuinely worried about her. Not that it meant that he loved her any less.

"Mulder, I'm fine. Seriously. I can look after myself."

How many times he had heard her say this. He knew she could look after herself. She was a strong independent woman, but that didn't stop him from wanting to take care of her. He could see the endless hours of work etched into her face and how it was effecting her. He couldn't bear to see her in pain, whether it be emotional or physical.

"Scully, please go to bed. I worry about you and I want to make life as easy as I can at the moment. I can look after William and do all the parenting for a while."

She could see that Mulder was being sincere and she considered his offer. Before changing her mind.

"Mulder, I can take care of William. Besides I have to get used to it. After all, I am his mother."

"And I'm his father, Scully. I want to do this for you. For us."

She smiled a loving smile at him and knew that Mulder had won. She kissed both of her boys before wandering off into the bedroom to finally get some sleep. She was happy that she could rely on Mulder, no matter how much bickering it took to finally get her to agree with him. She loved him as much as he loved her. And with that thought, she slowly drifted off into a much needed sleep.

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Scully awoke the next morning to find that Mulder wasn't next to her. She instantly jolted up, worried, and walked towards the living room. She sighed a breath of relief as she saw him slumbering on the couch with William on his chest, looking peaceful as he slept. She also noticed that the house was spotless and was surprised. Although she knew that she would probably find all the mess shoved inside a cupboard later that day. Still, at least he made an effort. She thought about going back to bed because it was Saturday, but decided that she needed to do something more productive with her time. So she started making breakfast.

"Hey. When did you get up?" Mulder yawned as he got up to put a still sleeping William in his crib, before walking over to Scully in the kitchen and embracing her.

"Not that long ago. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you"

Mulder could see that Scully was trying to concentrate on her cooking so he backed out of the kitchen.

"Watch you making, bacon?" Mulder said with a goofy grin on his face.

"No. I'm making pancakes. By the way, how did everything go with William last night? Any disasters?"

"Actually things went better than expected. We hung out and talked man-to-man. We watched some basketball and fell asleep" Scully's face lit up as she heard his words. She noticed him smiling back at her and looking like a proud father.

"Wow. It sounds like you two are really getting along. I'm glad to hear that."

They both looked into each other's eyes, seeing the happiness and joy that their son had brought them since his birth. That was when Scully noticed that her pancakes were burning.

"Shit!"

Mulder chuckled because he knew how hard Scully tried to be a perfectionist and let's be honest, she wasn't the best cook. But at least she tried and that pleased Mulder. She was the perfect woman for him.

Eventually she was done and they sat down, eating breakfast and smiling at each other like real partners. That was until William started screaming. She sighed, getting up, realizing that it was time for Williams breakfast. Scully returned with her son attached to her chest knowing that the moment was gone. But it wasn't his fault. After all, he is just a baby. Their baby. And that still brought a little smile on her face.

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That night, Scully walked into their bedroom, after an hour of trying to get William to sleep. She was definitely ready to go to bed. Mulder was waiting for her and he cuddled up against her as she climbed in bed. She loved cuddling with Mulder after all those years being alone and sharing a bed with herself. He was alone too.

"Mulder, could you imagine all those years ago when we first met that we would end up here? With a family?" Scully was pondering. She did that often before going to sleep.

"Honestly, no. especially since when I first met you, I thought you were assigned to the X-Files to spy on me." Mulder said sheepishly. "But I'm glad that we did end up here and I wouldn't trade a single minute of being with you. Those were some of the best years of my life. And I love you."

Scully was flattered, which was unexpected to Mulder, as she was rarely flattered.

"I love you too. Thank you for trusting me"

Mulder gave her a kiss that was full of love and appreciation and happiness. She accepted his kiss. They were clearly meant to be. And with that, they quietly dozed off. Well, until William woke them up with his crying, like he does every other night.

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Scully woke up the next morning facing the clock. It read 8:30.

"Fuck! I'm going to be late for work!"

At that moment she didn't really care if she woke up her partner. The only thing that mattered at 8:30 in the morning was getting to work on time. Being late to train future FBI agents was not exactly setting a good example for them.

"MULDER! WAKE UP!" She screamed.

At first, Mulder instantly thought she was in danger and jumped out of bed. False alarm.

"What's wrong, Scully?"

He seemed confused.

"Mulder, I need you to feed William. There's some milk in the fridge that I pumped last night. I'm going to be late for work."

Scully quickly kissed Mulder goodbye before ducking into her son's room and giving him a peck on the forehead. Mulder didn't even have time to properly say bye to her. And by then, she was already gone. Her running around had woken up William, who started crying instantly. Mulder sighed as he picked William up and gave him a fatherly hug.

"Guess it's just you & me today, huh buddy."

William and his mother were the best things that had ever happened in his life and he was glad to be able to spend every day of his life with them. He truly was a proud man.

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Scully walked into her home that afternoon and was immediately concerned. She was in such a rush that morning to get to work that she hardly saw them at all. In fact, even now she couldn't see Mulder or William. She checked all the rooms but there was no sign of them anywhere. She called Mulder on his cell, but he didn't answer, so she called again. This time he did answer.

"Mulder? Where the hell are you?"

"Hey Scully. I'm at the park with William. We went for a walk while we were waiting for you to come home."

"Oh my god. I was freaking out. I thought something had happened to y- "

"Don't worry. We'll be home soon. I love you. Bye."

That was abrupt. He sounded as if he was busy. Scully had almost died inside. She was so scared because if anything ever happened to them she would never forgive herself. She decided to have a shower and just relax after that stressful event. When she'd finished, she came out of the bathroom to find William and Mulder sitting on the couch.

"oh my god. You scared the crap out me this afternoon."

"I know. I'm sorry. I should have called and told you that we w- "

"don't worry. I'm just glad you're okay."

She came over and kissed him. They were both glad that that fiasco was over.

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The next afternoon, Scully came home with William, after some strenuous grocery shopping. It was hard to do anything these days with Williams constant crying and neediness. But that was the responsibility of being his mother. Not that she didn't want to be his mother. She loved him with all her heart. He was her miracle. Scully put Williams carrier down on the floor and unstrapped her child, just as Mulder walked out of the bedroom, hair damp. He had obviously just finished having a shower. She looked up at him, with William in her arms

"Hello." He said as he smirked.

Scully noticed immediately and knew that he was up to something. After all, he was always up to something. He probably broke one of her vases again.

"Mulder, what's going on?"

He said nothing. She started to get annoyed at him.

"Mulder, I'm serious. Tell me what's going on"

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Scully gave Mulder a sly look, as she opened the door to find her mom standing there, with a smile. Damn him.

"Mom! Hi! I'm surprised to see you. What are you doing here?" Scully was definitely surprised, and had no trouble expressing that in her face.

"Dana! Didn't you know? Mulder called yesterday afternoon, to ask if I can look after William for the night."

Scully looked at him with an unsure expression

"No. I didn't know." Scully said as Mulder gave her an innocent-looking face.

Mulder knew that his face was one of Scully's weaknesses, but he wasn't getting away that easy. Margaret picked up William and took him to his room, giving Scully a chance to interrogate him.

"Mulder, what is going on?" He could tell that she was getting angry now and he didn't want to ruin the evening he had planned.

"I thought that we could go out tonight. Just you and me."

"Well do you think that you could have told me beforehand?" She was pissed now. She went into the bedroom and was about to close the door before Mulder stopped her.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Please don't be pissed at me. I wanted us to have a night alone without having to worry about William."

Margaret walked outside and looked at the situation that was about to unfold. Mulder looked at her mom and Scully took the chance to slam the door. *well that went better than expected* Mulder thought. Maggie looked sympathetically at him.

"Dana can be stubborn sometimes, but eventually she will tell you her feelings. She really loves you, you know. Probably more than she loves herself." Margaret had a sad look on her face as she said this.

"Do you think you might be able to talk to her?"

"I think that it's best to leave her alone with her thoughts for a while. Eventually she will come to you."

Maggie left Mulder standing outside the bedroom door, waiting for his partner to confide in him. He felt lonely for the first time in months.

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She paced around her empty bedroom, wondering why she did that? Why did she always have to fuck things up? All he had wanted to do was make her happy and she was just being a bitch. In fact, he lived to make her happy. She and William were his life. She just needed some time to herself. Scully changed into her pajamas and fell asleep to the sounds of him, loitering around in her apartment. Their apartment.

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Mulder awoke in the darkness, surprised, as he saw the woman he loved standing outside the bedroom door, looking at him with content. He was even more surprised when she walked over and laid down on the couch with him, not saying a word. It stayed silent for a few minutes before she finally spoke:

"I'm so sorry"

He knew that it was hard for her to express her feelings sometimes and he sensed that she was ready to cry it all out. He hated himself when she cried, as if he was the reason for it.

"I'm sorry too."

He could feel her cold tears wetting his face. He wiped them all away and kissed her on her forehead. At that moment they just wanted to be in each other's arms and there was nothing more to say. They lay there for half an hour, before getting up, to move to their bedroom.

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Scully woke up that morning, without a word, and went to work. The normal routine. Which left Mulder and William to do as they please throughout the day. On this particular day William was still sleeping, which would have been surprising, had he not been up all morning. Mulder had just sat down after making himself breakfast, when he heard William's piercing screams. *does this boy sense when someone's just made food and wakes up, just to disturb them* he thought as he rushed to William. Mulder returned into the living room, eyeing his bacon lying there, as he went to warm up some milk. It had been twenty minutes until he finally got to sit down again, and his bacon was unappealing, now that he had smelt the baby's vomit on his shirt. Well that was a day in the life of a father. Well, Williams father anyway.

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Scully came home exhausted, like she does every day. She was overworking and everybody could see, but she would never admit it. She walked into Williams room and found her partner and her son lying on the floor.

"Hey. How was your day?" Mulder asked, as he held William above him.

"It was okay. I'm a little tired I guess."

"You're always tired now. I worry about you not getting enough sleep."

She could see the concern on his face, so she looked away.

"I'm fine Mulder. How was William"

Knowing that he had just been given the cold shoulder, he gave up in trying.

"We were okay today. He missed you. We both did."

He meant it when he said that he missed her. Lately, she was getting up, going to work, coming home and going to bed. Mulder wanted to spend more time with her, because he loved her.

"Well. I'm going to go start dinner now."

And just like that, their conversation was over. Scully seemed distant. Like she was avoiding that conversation. Well now probably wasn't the best time to try to talk things out, because he knew that her work was a 'sensitive' issue to discuss.

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Mulder walked into their bedroom, where Scully was reading a book, and closed the door.

"We need to talk." She could tell that he was being serious

"About what?"

"About you. Being so distant and insisting that your fine every time I try to talk with you. Because you're not fine. And I care about you. Please. Confide in me." He was truly expressing his feelings and expected her to do the same.

"Mulder, I have nothing to confide in you about."

"Scully, stop denying it. You're working too much. You come home every day, so tired that you go straight to bed. There's no communication between us. It's like, it's like we're not even a couple anymore."

"I don't know, Mulder"

"Fine."

He walked out and slammed the door. Then she heard the front door slam too. He just needed some air. What did he expect? That she was just going to confess all her feelings to him? She needed time to think. As she too, thought this, she felt her tears streaming down her face and furiously wiped them, as to show no weakness.

XXXXXX3XXXXXX

Scully couldn't sleep after that. She looked at the clock on her bedside table. 12:30AM. Mulder still wasn't home. She was worried about him. She thought that she was feeling much the same way as Mulder was, when he noticed her being distant, and felt guilt for acting the way she did. It was like any time that he tried to get her to talk to him, she would just shut him off. They were a couple. Soulmates. So why did she think that she can't talk to him?

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Mulder was wandering around the streets of Georgetown. He was cold. And sad. But he couldn't go back yet. Not with what just happened in there. He really cared about her. Did she not love him anymore? He didn't know what to think anymore. He didn't like having fights with Scully and he just wanted things to be perfect. But for that to happen, they'd have to trust each completely and be able to talk about their problems. Even when they were on the x-files, Scully never expressed her feelings and thoughts to him. She did trust him, with her life, but just not her personal life. Mulder wanted to go back home to her and to William despite of the fight.

XXXXXX3XXXXXX

Scully still wasn't asleep. When she heard the front door gently open and close, she sat up in bed, and Mulder opened the bedroom door. He stood there, looking at her. She could see that he had been crying, as could he see the same on her face. She got up and they both started walking to each other, meeting halfway, with a hug. He kissed her, and they both decided that it was time to talk it all out.

"I'm sorry. I need to tell you how I've been feeling lately." Scully looked at Mulder promisingly.

"if you don't feel comfortable with that, its fine. I can be patient. For you." He kissed her again to ensure her that he understood.

"No. it's time to talk to you."

They spoke until the sun rose, about all the things that she had been trying to avoid. Like how she felt like a bad mother, for not being there to care for William throughout the day and about how her work was consuming her. Eventually they decided that, today was going to be her last for a while. She was going to take a 2 month leave from work, so they could both care for, and watch their child growing.

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Scully went to work one final time for two months, that morning. Mulder was happy that soon, they would finally get to spend some time together with their budding son. The FBI chapter of their lives was closed, and a new chapter was opening for them. A chapter full of love and bliss. He heard William crying, and went to pick him up and comforting him, knowing that this would be the last time he would have to do it alone. Of course, eventually Scully would have to go back to work, so they could live a somewhat comfortable life. Because honestly, no one in their right mind would hire him. His resume would've said something like 'chased aliens and got in the heart of a global government conspiracy, while working in the FBI'. Whereas Scully's resume was flawless. *just like her* he thought.

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End file.
